Ferrari junior Mick Schumacher gets sweaty out of his Haas VF-22 after the 2022 Belgian Grand Prix in Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps. Sweatier than usual because “an isolation tape or something like that” broke, as the young German driver explains on ‘ServusTV’. “I had hot air from the engine in the cockpit the whole time and the seat quickly reached 60 degrees.” And Mick Schumacher jokes in an interview for ‘Sky’: “Good training for Singapore!”
In purely sporting terms, however, he didn’t feel like laughing: Mick Schumacher and Haas just followed others in Spa. After 44 laps of the race, he and Kevin Magnussen saw the finish line in positions 16 and 17, only ahead of Williams driver Nicholas Latifi. Points were not within reach for the US racing team this weekend, the two Haas cars were too slow for that.
Mick Schumacher explains: “In terms of speed, we weren’t quite where we wanted to be. But we knew that beforehand. [Because] other cars simply have a lot more top speed than we do. Accordingly, it was extremely difficult to keep up at all.”
Mick Schumacher raves about Spa
The VF-22 was only able to keep up halfway in the middle sector. It was “actually okay” there, emphasizes the Ferrari junior. “That’s why, once I was in front, I could keep the gap or even close it.” Secretly, however, he wished that “more would come of it,” said the German.
Nevertheless, the Grand Prix in Spa was good for him. Mick Schumacher confirms: “I drove my first race in Formula 1 in Belgium, so I’m happy about it.” In the end he “had a lot of fun” because Spa is always “beautiful to drive”.
Haas update more decisive in Zandvoort than in Spa
And because the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps has very different characteristics than the Hungaroring track in Budapest, it was hardly possible to draw any conclusions about the Haas update. “Probably,” says Mick Schumacher, “the update for Zandvoort will take another step in the right direction. Simply because it suits circuits like this better.”
“So we’re looking forward to Zandvoort, where we can go back to the bigger wing. I think our car is doing quite well with a higher wing at the moment. Hopefully we’ll be back with the music [with that] too.” The goal at Zandvoort is to be “more in the middle” and “hopefully to be able to finish in the points,” says Mick Schumacher.
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In addition, Haas must see to it that the drag of the VF-22 is reduced. That is “definitely a big factor” in races like Spa, explains Mick Schumacher. “We have to make sure that we get something for Monza again. If not, we’ll just have to throw our luck in the pot again and see what comes of it!”
He also wants to track down the heat problem together with the team: “Of course we’ll do some research and see what kind of effects it had. That can also cause aerodynamic problems, so we’ll definitely study it and see if we lost something because of it.” – the Ferrari junior concluded.
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